This invention relates generally to air filled pillows for insertion into, and protecting during shipping an article packaged in, a box, and more particularly to an efficient method and means for producing, conveying, storing and utilizing those air pillows.
In the process of shipping an item from one location to another, a protective packaging material is typically placed in the shipping carton or box, to fill any voids and/or to cushion the item during the shipping process. Some conventional protective packaging materials are plastic, for example expanded polystyrene, foam peanuts and starch peanuts. Another protective packaging material is air filled pillows. Such air filled pillows may be produced by a variety of commercially available air pillow production machines. Such machines may form air pillows from flat plastic film, folded plastic film, tubular plastic film or interconnected preformed open topped plastic bags.
The current practice of handling, i.e. conveying, and storing air pillows for their use after their production is to utilize a mechanical conveyor which mechanically conveys the air pillows from the air pillow production machine to a storage hopper. Typically such mechanical conveyors are relatively expensive and complicated, and are subject to malfunction which results in down time of the conveyor and intensive maintenance, etc. All of these factors limit the practical length that the storage hopper can be from the air pillow production machine. That is, beyond some distance it simply becomes cost prohibitive to utilize such a mechanical conveyor to mechanically convey the air pillows from the air pillow production machine to the storage hopper.
It would be desirable to devise some method or system of handling, conveying, storing and the like, the air pillows which overcomes the drawbacks associated with the current techniques.
Accordingly, the present invention addresses the production, conveyance, storage and utilization of such air filled pillows. Rather than convey the air pillows by a mechanical means, the present invention provides a means and method for pneumatically conveying the air pillows. In one aspect, apparatus for producing and conveying air pillows comprises an air pillow production machine which produces a continuous web of air filled pillows, ductwork extending away from the air pillow production machine and through which the web of air pillows is conveyed, and a blower which conveys the web of air pillows from the air pillow production machine and through the ductwork.
In another aspect, apparatus for producing, conveying and storing air pillows comprises an air pillow production machine which produces a continuous web of air filled pillows, ductwork extending away from the air pillow production machine and through which the web of air pillows is conveyed, a blower which conveys the web of air pillows from the air pillow production machine and through the ductwork, and a hopper into which the web of air pillows is conveyed for storage.
In yet another aspect, apparatus for producing and conveying air pillows comprises an air pillow production machine which produces a continuous web of air filled pillows, ductwork extending away from the air pillow production machine and through which the web of air pillows is conveyed, a blower which conveys the web of air pillows from the air pillow production machine and through the ductwork, a sensor which senses a condition of at least one of the air pillows in the web of air pillows being deflated, and a controller which controls the air pillow production machine in response to signals from the sensor.
In still another aspect, apparatus for producing and conveying air pillows comprises an air pillow production machine which produces a continuous web of air filled pillows, ductwork extending away from the air pillow production machine and through which the web of air pillows is conveyed, a blower which conveys the web of air pillows from the air pillow production machine and through the ductwork, a sensor which senses a stall condition of the web of air pillows in the event the web of air pillows stops moving through the ductwork, and a controller which controls the air pillow production machine in response to signals from the sensor.
In a preferred embodiment, the sensor is a mechanical probe which extends into a path of conveyance of the web of air pillows and which is movable to and between and engaged position and a disengaged position. The probe is moved into the engage position by the air pillows during conveyance of the web of air pillows, and moves to the disengaged position when either the probe encounters a deflated air pillow in the web of air pillows or when the web of air pillows stops moving through the ductwork.
In another preferred embodiment, the probe is a whisker trigger and the controller is a micro switch to which the whisker trigger is connected. The micro switch interrupts power to the air pillow production machine when the trigger moves to the disengaged position.
In yet another preferred embodiment, the web of air pillows feeds downwardly from the air pillow production machine, around a guide member, and into a horizontal portion of the ductwork. The micro switch is mounted to the guide member and extends downwardly below the guide member such that the web of air pillows engages the whisker trigger as the web passes around the guide member and transitions from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation. The guide member is circular in cross-section and is about 3 inches in diameter. The circular guide member has a downwardly directed slot therein and the whisker trigger passes through the slot. The slot defines a sector having an included angle of about 90 degrees. A blower box is disposed between the blower and the ductwork, and the guide member is mounted to the blower box.
In still another aspect, apparatus for producing, conveying and storing air pillows comprises an air pillow production machine which produces a continuous web of air filled pillows, ductwork extending away from the air pillow production machine and through which the web of air pillows is conveyed, a blower which conveys the web of air pillows from the air pillow production machine and through the ductwork, a sensor which senses a condition of at least one of the air pillows in the web of air pillows being deflated, a controller which controls the air pillow production machine in response to signals from the sensor, and a hopper into which the web of air pillows is conveyed for storage.
In still another aspect, apparatus for producing, conveying and storing air pillows comprises an air pillow production machine which produces a continuous web of air filled pillows, ductwork extending away from the air pillow production machine and through which the web of air pillows is conveyed, a blower which conveys the web of air pillows from the air pillow production machine and through the ductwork, a sensor which senses a condition of at least one of the air pillows in the web of air pillows being deflated, a controller which controls the air pillow production machine in response to signals from the sensor, and a hopper into which the web of air pillows is conveyed for storage.
In a preferred embodiment, the hopper has an open top and the web of air pillows is conveyed into the hopper through the open top. The hopper includes an opening near a bottom thereof through which air pillows may be pulled by an operator for insertion into a box.
The invention also provides a number of methods relating to the production, conveyance, storage and utilization of such air filled pillows. One method, for producing and conveying air pillows, comprises producing, with an air pillow production machine, a continuous web of air filled pillows, and conveying the web of air pillows with an air current from the air pillow production machine to a desired location.
Another method, for producing, conveying and storing air pillows, comprises producing, with an air pillow production machine, a continuous web of air filled pillows, conveying the web of air pillows with an air current from the air pillow production machine to a storage hopper, and conveying the web of air pillows into the storage hopper.
Yet another method, for producing, conveying, storing and utilizing air pillows, comprises producing, with an air pillow production machine, a continuous web of air filled pillows, conveying the web of air pillows with an air current from the air pillow production machine to a storage hopper, conveying the web of air pillows into the storage hopper, and removing air pillows from the storage hopper and placing them in a box in which an article is to be shipped.
The present invention therefore completely eliminates the mechanical conveyor as the means of conveyance of the air pillows from the air pillow production machine to the storage hopper. Rather, the air pillows are pneumatically conveyed. The apparatus and method of the present invention for pneumatically conveying the air pillows from the air pillow production machine to the storage hopper is much simpler in that, except for the blower, there are no mechanical moving parts in the system. The system of the invention is thus much simpler, much less expensive and requires much less maintenance than mechanical-type conveyors. Due to the simple and inexpensive nature of the pneumatic air pillow conveyance system of the present invention, the only limit on the distance between the air pillow production machine and the storage hopper is the pressure head of the blower. Thus, by appropriately selecting the output of the blower, the storage hoppers can be as far away from the air pillow production machine as is desired or required, both in horizontal distance and in vertical distance.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent during the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings herein, in which: